Unplanned pregnancy growing issue for women over 35

February 9, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

Unplanned pregnancy is a growing problem for women over the age of 35, many who believe that they’re too old to conceive.

The U.K.’s sexual health charity Family Planning Association (FPA) has announced a new campaign called “Conceivable?” to remind women that contraception is needed until a year or two after menopause.

This week the campaign, as part of the charity’s Contraceptive Awareness Week, is focused on letting women know that age is not a contraception.

“The message is that if you’re over 35, although your fertility is declining, it hasn’t disappeared completely,” says the FPA’s Web site. “Fertility is an individual thing. It changes with lifestyle, health and from one reproductive system to another. It varies hugely from woman to woman and essentially from couple to couple.”

The FPA makes reference to the “constant stream” of news related to the fertility decline of women after 30, stating that many women are calling the charity, surprised that they are getting pregnant later in life.

“It’s important that women realize it’s entirely conceivable that just one night of unprotected sex in your late 30s, 40s, even 50s can end in an unplanned pregnancy,” said Julie Bentley, chief executive of the charity. “Our helpline receives calls from such women, shocked this has happened to them. They thought their age would protect them from becoming pregnant.”

Data from England and Wales in 2008 showed that women between the ages of 40 and 44 were just as likely to receive an abortion as women under the age of 16. The charity also states that almost 20,000 women between the ages of 35 to 39 had an abortion in the same year.

While there are many medical reasons a woman may want to receive an abortion, the FPA suggests there is a link to the increased number of older women having abortions and misconceptions about their fertility.

The FPA says that there are 15 methods of contraception available to women, most being effective regardless of age.

“We know on average women spend about five minutes on choosing their contraception and many don’t make enough time for themselves to think about what they want,” said Bentley. “They can talk to FPA or their health professional about finding the perfect contraceptive for them.”